The Woman in Black
by srdaire
Summary: This is a dream I had after watching "The Woman in Black" starring Daniel Radcliffe. NOTE: I'm using Daniel's real name, and not Arthur Kipps
1. Chapter 1

I stood within the crowd surrounding Dan. His body was tense and his brow furrowed indicating that he was anxious about something. He ran around the crowd and spoke in his British accent, "Please listen." The sea of people were silent as we stared at him. "Who would like to earn a little extra money?" We all exchanged slightly surprised glances and slowly raised our hands. The side of his mouth twitched slightly. "And who would be willing to enter the Drablow house with me?"

Every hand immediately dropped, including mine, as those around me began to shake their heads in fear. "That place is haunted," someone cried out, "You'd have to be crazy to go in there!"

Realizing that Dan was to be alone, I pushed my way out of the crowd and stood before him. "I'll go with you," I said, "But you don't have to pay me. My name is Cassi."

With a slight smile, he took my hand, and turning our backs to the crowd, he led me into the haunted building. From the inside-out, the Drablow house was pretty ancient; it was made of wood that had turned a dark dusty gray and had rotted over the years. Very little light shone through the grimy windows, and the air smelled like mold and something decaying.

Once I had gotten the familiar shiver running down my spine, I began to survey our surroundings more closely. It wasn't long before I spotted what I had been looking for: a ghost. It was a woman, very pale like the color of a bone, wearing a black dress that had gone out of fashion about a hundred years ago. At first, I wasn't disturbed until I got a good look at her face. Her eyes were sunken in to the point they looked like empty black sockets. Biting back a shriek, I averted my gaze and stared down at the dust on the floor bursting up in little clouds with each step we took.

"Dan, why exactly are we in here?" I asked.

"I'm looking for something," he replied, "And to be honest, I'm glad I'm not alone. This place gives me the creeps."

He soon led me to a staircase. "Be careful," he said as we began to climb up to the second floor, "The steps may be broken."

I glanced up briefly to count how many steps were ahead of us, and I felt my heart leap out of my chest and get jammed in my throat. The woman in black was now standing at the top of the stairs staring down at us, her lips twisted into an eerie smile. Dan hadn't seen her; he was too busy keeping an eye on our footing. Seconds later, other ghosts began to materialize behind the woman in black; an elderly man, a teenaged girl, and two other women. All of them were wearing clothes from the previous century and had the same sunken in eyes.

I opened my mouth to scream, but no sound came out. I didn't want to take another step forward, so I moved back slightly, which was a mistake. My left foot slipped off the edge of the step I was standing on, and I fell backwards, dragging Dan along with me. Thankfully, we weren't too high up, so that when we landed on our backs with a crash, we only had the wind knocked out of us.

"Are you okay?" he groaned, sitting up and gazing down at me. I didn't answer as I continued to stare up at the ghosts. Realizing that I wasn't looking at him, he spun around and he finally saw what I could. He paled in fear and jumped to his feet, forcing me to mine. Nearly yanking my arm out of my socket, he ran and pulled me along, causing me to stumble over my own feet. "Come on! We need to hide!" he said in a whisper loud enough for me to hear.

I gaped at him. You can't hide from the dead!

Dan opened up a door to a broom closet and dove in. Thanks to physics, I flew forward and slammed into his chest as he closed the door behind us. For a moment, I was dazed being this close to him, and I had forgotten about the situation we were currently in until I heard him whisper.

"Dammit! Those stupid gh-" I cut off his words by slapping my hand across his mouth.

"_Never_," I warned in a whisper, "insult the dead, or you will live to regret it." He nodded in understanding and I removed my hand.

We were both silent as we heard a female voice say from the floor above us, "Find them."


	2. Chapter 2

_(Sorry about the wait. I had lost my journal I had written my dream in, but I found it. I have also been busy with other writings, so the next instalment may take a while.)_

I don't know how Dan and I managed to escape the Drablow house without being caught by the ghosts, but we did. Unfortunately, he still had to go back and find what he had been searching for. Despite the fear I had felt earlier, I was actually curious about the ghosts I had seen and wanted to go back. My cousins, Ashley and Erica, had tried to dissuade me from returning to the house with Dan, but I ignored them. Then, feeling the need to "protect" me, since I'm their baby cousin, they decided to come along.

Once inside the Drablow house, Dan began to rummage through desks and drawers on the bottom floor while Ashley and Erica were huddled together, fear etched upon their faces. From up above, I could hear a soft _crick, crick, crick, crick_ and the sound of murmured voices. I stared up at the ceiling for a moment before heading towards the staircase.

"Wait, where are you going?" Ashley called out to me.

"Get back here!" Erica added.

Ignoring my cousins, I climbed up the stairs all the way to the second landing. I followed the noise into a small parlor and I stood in the doorway staring at the ghosts. They didn't seem to realize I was there. The elderly man was in a rocking chair, which happened to be the source of the _crick_-ing sound; the two women were sitting on a moth-eaten sofa chatting away, and the teenaged girl was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring up at the two women. The woman in black was not around. It was the teenager who had spotted me first.

She must have sensed my presence, because she turned around and smiled at me. "Hello," she said. The other ghosts turned in my direction. Their sunken in eyes made me cringe, and I involuntarily took a step back. The girl's smile faded and she jumped to her feet. "Oh, please don't leave."

"There's no need to be afraid," said one woman wearing a red dress.

"We won't harm you," said the elderly man.

"What about the woman in black?" I inquired in a small voice.

"She won't harm you either," said the second woman who wore a white dress.

"Yes," the teenager agreed, "Just don't make too much noise, though. It'll alert her and she can be quite temperamental."

"Why have you returned?" the old man asked.

"My friend is looking for something," I confessed, "And the five of you scared us out of here before he could find it."

"Cassi," I heard my cousins call my name. I turned to see them climbing up the last of the stairs with Dan. He had a manila folder stuffed with papers and a journal clutched in his hand.

"Who are you talking to?" Erica demanded as they stopped beside me.

Ashley saw the ghosts and shrieked, backing up and slamming into a wall, dust exploding around her and the wood creaking. Dan grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the doorway.

"Come on," he cried trying to drag me down the stairs, but I pulled my arm out of his grip.

"Wait," I said, "They won't hurt us." I turned to face the ghosts once more, but found myself staring deep into the sunken eyes of the woman in black. Her face was just inches from mine, and I felt my breath catch in my throat as my heart pounded against my ribcage.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" she roared. I stumbled backwards and landed on my behind gazing up at her. "GET OUT!"

Dan and Erica each grabbed one of my arms and hoisted me to my feet. Not wanting to be anywhere near an angry ghost, I allowed them to drag me down the stairs with Ashley in the lead. We had all hit the first landing and were heading for the front door, but skidded to a halt. The last four ghosts were blocking our path.

"Don't go," the teenaged girl begged, her hands clasped before her in a pleading gesture.

The woman in black swooped past us and hovered above the others looking furious. "Move," she ordered them.

"No," said the woman in scarlet, "Didn't you see what the boy is holding in his hand?" Every single one of us turned to see the folder and journal he was carrying. "They'd be able to help us!"

"Young man," said the old gentleman, "Is that what you came here for? Why would you need my son's journal?"

Dan eyed them suspiciously and slowly replied, "A man sent me to retrieve these."


End file.
